Buckingham, Buckinghamshire · Buckinghamshire

Royal Latin School

A Schools Adjudicator ruling landed against its admissions policy in June 2026 — a narrow, still-unresolved compliance issue over how it documents out-of-year-group admissions.

One of the oldest schools in this index, tracing to a 1423 chantry-chapel foundation with its 'Royal' name added by Edward VI's 1548 charter. Royal Latin's own admissions policy — independently and verbatim confirmed by a Schools Adjudicator determination — sets a flat qualifying threshold with no score-ranking above it: places go by catchment, priority category, then distance. Worth flagging directly: in June 2026 the Adjudicator upheld a parent's objection that the school's admissions arrangements didn't adequately document its process for admitting children outside their normal age group, ordering a revision — a narrow, still-unfolding compliance issue that doesn't touch the core qualifying score or catchment system.

Key facts

Gender: co-ed
Age range: 11-18
Region: South East
Local authority: Buckinghamshire
Established: 1423
DfE URN: 137344
Website: https://www.royallatin.org

Admissions

Admissions authority: The school sets its own test and criteria
Entrance test board: The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT), marked by GL Assessment. The Royal Latin School Trust is confirmed as the legal admissions authority both by its own policy and, independently, by a June 2026 Schools Adjudicator determination — Buckinghamshire Council administers the test and appeals only as a contracted agent.
Test format: Two papers sat on the same day in autumn of Year 6, each about an hour, assessing verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills. Each area is age-standardised then summed into a single Secondary Transfer Test Score (STTS) on a 60-170 scale. A short familiarisation test is sat about two days before the main test.
Qualifying / pass mark: An STTS of 121 for September 2027 entry — the same flat county-wide threshold used by all 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools, confirmed both in the school's own policy and the Adjudicator's determination. Up to 12 places are reserved for care-experienced or catchment Pupil Premium children scoring 115-120.
Superselective?: No

Catchment & priority criteria

A defined catchment area exists — a large, mostly rural zone centred on Buckingham, extending north toward the Northamptonshire border near Whittlebury and Silverstone, west and southwest through Brackley, Turweston, Chetwode, Marsh Gibbon and Grendon Underwood, and east in a narrower corridor via Padbury, Winslow and Swanbourne. Published only as a static 2017 council map; families should verify a specific address against Buckinghamshire Council's live checker rather than the map alone.partly verified

The published catchment map dates to 2017, predating Buckinghamshire's 2020 move to a unitary authority — families should verify a specific address against the council's live checker rather than the static map.

Children with an EHCP naming the school
Looked-after and previously looked-after children
Catchment children eligible for Pupil Premium
Up to 12 places for children scoring 115-120 who are care-experienced (anywhere) or catchment Pupil Premium
Children of staff (2+ years' service, or a skill-shortage recruit)
Children living in the catchment area
Siblings of children already on roll
Children with exceptional medical or social needs, including registered young carers
All other qualified children, by straight-line distance; random allocation for exact ties

Results

Year	Attainment 8	GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths	Progress 8	A*–A	A*–B
2024	73.1 (Buckinghamshire LA average 53.6, England state-funded average 45.9)	95.9% (Bucks LA 59.5%, England 45.9%)	+0.59 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.36 to +0.81) — this cohort's KS2 SATs were sat normally in May 2019, predating the COVID cancellations	55%	76%
A-level (699 entries): 55% grades A-A, 76% grades A-B, 91% A*-C, average grade B+.
2025	73.5 (Bucks LA average 53.4, England state-funded average 46.1)	94.8% (Bucks LA 58.7%, England 45.4%)	Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally	59%	83%
A-level (681 entries): 59% grades A-A, 83% grades A-B, 94% A*-C, average grade A-.

Ofsted

Rating: Good overall. Sub-judgements: quality of education Good, behaviour and attitudes Outstanding, personal development Outstanding, leadership and management Good, sixth-form provision Outstanding. This was the school's first Section 5 inspection as an academy, having been exempt from routine inspection until November 2020.
Date: 15-16 November 2022
Report: Read the full report

Sources

1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137344
2. School's own Admissions Policy September 2027 Entry — https://www.royallatin.org/admissions/
3. Office of the Schools Adjudicator — Determination ADA4613, Royal Latin School (8 June 2026) — https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a2c2750d95ffddb05d4afce/Determination_ADA4613_-_Royal_Latin_School.pdf
4. Ofsted report, inspected 15-16 November 2022 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50209206
5. School's own History page — founded 1423 — https://www.royallatin.org/history/
6. DfE Compare School Performance — results over time — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137344/royal-latin-school/secondary/results-over-time
7. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137344/royal-latin-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
8. School's own results page (GCSE and A-level PDFs) — https://www.royallatin.org/about-rls/

Last updated 2026-08-31. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.